SynthesisTechniques in coloproctology2024
Is percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) effective for fecal incontinence (FI) in adults compared with sham electrical stimulation? A meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Techniques in coloproctology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 4 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy of non-pharmacological interventions for the restoration of postoperative intestinal motility of patients with colorectal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.International journal of colorectal disease · 2025Pooled it
- Therapeutic strategies for low anterior resection syndrome: an umbrella review of systematic reviews.International journal of colorectal disease · 2025Pooled it
- Posterior tibial neurostimulation for faecal incontinence in community-dwelling older adults: long-term outcomes and predictors of response.Techniques in coloproctology · 2026Article
- Consensus Guidelines for the Use of Peripheral Nerve Stimulation in the Treatment of Chronic Pain and Neurological Diseases: A Neuron Project from the American Society of Pain and Neuroscience.Journal of pain research · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSacral nerve neuromodulation (SNM) has been considered the optimal second-line treatment for fecal incontinence (FI). However, SNM involves high cost and requires highly skilled operators. Percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) has emerged as an alternative treatment modality for FI, yielding varying clinical outcomes. We conducted this meta-analysis to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of PTNS compared to sham electrical stimulation for FI.
methodsPubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library were searched for studies from May 12, 2012 to May 12, 2022.
resultsFour randomized controlled studies were included in this review, involving a total of 439 adult patients with FI (300 in the PTNS group and 194 in the sham electrical stimulation group). Our meta-analysis revealed that PTNS demonstrated superior efficacy in reducing weekly episodes of FI compared to the control groups (MD - 1.6, 95% CI - 2.94 to - 0.26, p = 0.02, I
conclusionsOur meta-analysis revealed that PTNS was more effective than sham stimulation in reducing FI episodes and led to a higher proportion of patients reporting more than a 50% reduction in weekly FI episodes.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.